Colors and Sounds
by Yunilicious
Summary: Her eyes only knew the color of the monochrome sorrow. One day as she was walking in the forest, she heard a song singing about the blue sky and the golden sunset and for the first time she started seeing the world in beautiful colors. This is the tale of a Magical Girl who left everything behind in order to follow the sound of the song she heard on that day.
1. Prologue

Greetings! This is an MGRP fanfic I've been working on for a few months now, and I finally decided to upload.

The story revolves around the life of a spoiler character from the second arc, _Restart,_ (I got bored of waiting for the author of MGRP to create a side story for her.) I'm not gonna reveal anything past that, to avoid spoiling for those who haven't read Restart.

In case you are wondering, this fanfic **does** contain Magical Girl OC's but they are mostly minor characters without names, and only appear as participants in the death games. _(I may or I may not give them names in the future.)_

 _Note 1:_ English is **not** my native language so I apologize for any mistakes. (I tried my best! T_T)

 _Note 2:_ Updates are gonna be slow since I plan on making this story quite long, and I have many ideas and headcanons I'd like to throw in so it will take me sometime. Thank you for your patience.

 _Note 3:_ Magical Girl Raising Project belongs to Asari Endou.

* * *

 **Prologue**

For as long as she can remember herself, Mashiro Kuji had always lived in the wilderness. She was a nomad who had been born and raised into a clan of hunter-gatherers and from a very young age she had been trained in the use of various weapons such as bows, spears and harpoons in order to effectively hunt down her prey.

Over the years, she proved herself to be quite adept in the use of weapons, but no matter how many days and nights she spent training, she felt that her skills were lacking. Even when her clanspeople expressed genuine admiration towards her efforts, she would just dismiss their compliments, claiming that she only did what anyone else would have done in her place.

If Mashiro could name one thing that she hated the most about herself then the answer was her _mediocrity_ ; and her speech impediment.

Since her early childhood, poor girl was always laughed at by other children whenever she spoke and due to her strong accent, things would take a turn for the worse when she tried interacting with people outside her clan. These unpleasant events caused Mashiro to distance herself from others and indulge more and more into solitary activities.

Nonetheless, her personal issues didn't stop her from wanting to improve, because deep down she possessed an unwavering determination and a strong desire to achieve her goals.

Still, not even Mashiro could have possibly predicted that a fateful encounter would spark that desire which would eventually serve as the catalyst that would change her life; all because of one mysterious individual, a person who was just a stranger but ended up becoming the center of Mashiro's world.

Because of that individual… _a great magical girl was about to be born._


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1 **-** _The Forest Musician_

The magical girl ran for her life.

Her heart was pumping hard, fear was running through her veins.

She felt exhausted, but even so she kept pushing herself forward.

She couldn't afford to stop now. Not after she witnessed her friends being slaughtered right in front of her eyes.

She had tried to stop the killer to no avail. Now her ribs had been broken and her outfit had been stained bloody red.

There was no way she would survive if she took one more blow. She had to keep moving.

Her pursuer wasn't one to go after weak opponents but the girl had dared resist the memory wipe. She didn't want to forget. If she forgot it would all be over. If she were to forget then more magical girls would end up being slaughtered just like her friends.

She had to let them know the truth before it was too late.

She would have died alongside her friends, but she was smart enough to use her phone's flashlight to blind her pursuer and make her escape.

As long as she didn't look back, as long as she kept running…

…There was _still_ **hope**.

Thanks to her ability, which allowed her to jump very far and high, the girl had managed to outrun her pursuer and she had ended up in a forest deep in the mountains. She jumped from tree to tree and kept moving towards the heart of the forest, hoping that her tracks would be lost and that she would eventually manage to reach a village that was on the other side. After she reached the village her plan was to transform back to her human form and contact other magical girls.

As a human, the magical girl was a famous journalist, so it would be a piece of cake to expose the killer of her friends.

While she was still thinking of how to successfully carry out her plan, she suddenly heard a loud noise coming from the direction she was moving towards. The magical girl was taken aback.

Could her pursuer have possibly outrun her? No, that _wasn't_ possible because she had already proved to be faster.

She stopped moving, thinking what to do next. Would it be safe to continue moving forward? Or would it better to head to a different direction?

She was running out of time, the killer would catch up to her soon. Instinctively, she slid her hand inside her outfit's pocket but much to her dismay she realized that her phone was gone. She must have dropped it accidentally while jumping on the trees. Losing her phone was the worst-case scenario. What was she gonna do now? Should she keep moving or should she go back and search for her _ph_ _—_

"My-my, you are one crafty rat."

The magical girl stopped dead in her tracks when she heard a woman's voice addressing her from behind.

"Your little trick took me by surprise _however_ …"

It was calm and soft-spoken; the kind of voice she had wished to never hear again. It was the voice of a **killer**.

Slowly, the magical girl glanced over her shoulder. An elegant figure was standing just a few meters away from her; her irises were bloody red and she was wearing a sinister smile. The magical girl felt cold sweat running down her forehead, frozen in fear, as her pursuer approached her.

"…this farce ends _here_." The elf woman declared as she clenched her fists.

"F-Forest Musician...Cranberry…"her lips were trembling as she uttered her pursuer's name. The magical girl stared in horror as Cranberry raised her fist and then…

…There was the sound of bones shattering.

* * *

Mashiro Kuji was about to camp for the night. She had spent her morning hunting down wild boars, which she sold at the nearby village. Later on that day she went gathering herbs and while doing so, she found a lost cellphone. It wasn't the first time she found lost belongings in the wild so she didn't think much of it. Once, she had found a wallet with 20,000Yen in it, another time she had found a camp chair and even a pair of binoculars. The girl thought that the owners of those items were very irresponsible, so it would be a waste of time to return their belongings.

Indeed, this was a comfortable excuse to convince herself that it was okay to keep the lost items.

Mashiro had been checking her new phone while she was walking.

Having grown up in the mountains, she had never owned a cellphone before, so she wasn't exactly sure how to use it. The screen was black and no matter how many times she pressed it with her index finger she couldn't get it to work. She then observed the sides of the cellphone and noticed two buttons one next to the other. She pressed the smaller one and the screen of her phone lit up. Now there were nine dots on the screen and a text asking her to 'draw a pattern'. Mashiro wasn't exactly sure what that meant.

The girl experimented several times by tapping on the phone's screen and when that didn't work, she scrolled from one dot to the other. This time the text on the screen changed from 'draw you pattern' to 'wrong pattern'. Mashiro's face wrinkled up into an annoyed grimace. After a few more tries, her grimace turned into a triumphant smile as she finally managed to unlock the phone.

"I did _—"_

 _Boop._

She didn't manage to finish her sentence before she collided with a tree.

Apparently, she hadn't been paying attention to her surroundings.

"Ughh…it hertz…" the girl let out a groan as she placed her hand on her forehead.

Mashiro's head was still in pain when suddenly she heard a strange sound. She thought that hitting her head had probably caused her to hear things; however she quickly realized that she was wrong. It might have been far but she could hear _something_ —a melody.

But, a melody in the middle of nowhere? As far as Mashiro was concerned, she was the only one living in that forest. Naturally, the girl was overwhelmed with curiosity and decided to head towards the path where the music was coming from. As she walked down the forest pathway, the sound was getting clearer. As if someone had cast a spell on her, she could no longer hear the sound of the wind blowing through the trees, neither the noises of the nearby animals, not even her own footsteps. She could hear nothing but the sound of that tune.

It was a beautiful yet poignant melody accompanied by a gentle voice that was singing about distant days and the emptiness she felt under the ever-changing sky. Mashiro was captivated by the mysterious singer.

Who is the one singing?

Before she could take any guesses, her hands moved mechanically, pulling away the bushes that were blocking her field of vision and her question was thus answered.

Sitting on a log in the middle of the forest's glade, was a woman playing her lyre. Mashiro noticed that she had pointy ears and her figure was surrounded by large roses.

Could she possibly be? One of the elves her people told stories about? She was probably one of them or at least resembled one.

Her blonde hair was short at the back with long loose curls framing her face. Bangs were obscuring her forehead and her head was adorned by a crown of blue roses. She wore a white, frilly shirt and matching chocker. On top, she wore a green jacket with a high collar. Her slender thighs were intertwined with rose vines. She looked serene and very beautiful.

Mashiro's cheeks blushed a deep red as she was admiring the elf in silence.

In her eyes, the musician was so otherworldly, so refined and despite her calm demeanor, Mashiro could sense an overwhelming power radiating from her.

The aloof look in her crimson eyes, her noble posture, even the way her long, delicate fingers moved as she played the lyre, everything about her was _special_. Finally the girl realized. That woman was everything that Mashiro wasn't. She was _everything_ that Mashiro **wanted** to be.

The girl attempted to reveal herself but her legs froze. She couldn't do it. She didn't want to stop the musician from playing her lyre because Mashiro enjoyed her music. Besides, even if she were to approach her what would she tell her? The two obviously had nothing in common. Another problem was her accent. Mashiro was afraid that she would just embarrass herself if she were to open her mouth…

 _No_. She couldn't risk talking to her.

The girl decided that it would be best to just stay hidden and watch the musician from afar. Ah, how she wished that time would stop so she could just listen to that song forever. If only the two of them could stay in that forest, free from the worries of the world…

Unfortunately, fate had other plans in store.


	3. Chapter 2

The second chapter is here, enjoy!

Reviews are appreciated :)

* * *

Chapter 2 – _Goddess of Mighty Force_

It was early in the morning. The girl had woken up and she was about to start her day. She went to wash her face at a nearby river, afterwards she had breakfast and when she was done eating she checked her phone. The previous day had been rather busy but to Mashiro it was definitely worthwhile. She had made good money from selling the animals she had hunted down and most importantly, she had encountered a special someone in the woods.

She was a beautiful elf woman, who seemed to be in her twenties.

The girl had been enthralled by her. In her mind, she believed that the musician was some sort of nature deity, so she had refrained from disturbing her.

Mashiro sat on a log, humming the tune that she had heard the musician play. She was still trying to figure out how to use her phone. She glanced at the top right corner of the screen and noticed a bar which was at 50% but she wasn't sure what that meant. Next she checked the contacts list. There were quite a few contacts saved there. All had a name with a number written below. She clicked one of the contacts and it made a beeping sound; a few seconds later she heard someone talking which made her drop the phone out of fear. When she picked it up again, she pressed the red icon at the bottom of the screen and the voice of the unknown person ceased. She sighed.

Technology was too complicated for her. She slid her phone into her short's pocket and picked up her bow and harpoons. It was about time to go hunting.

Ever since she was a child Mashiro had a keen interest in making things. She would carefully observe the adults of her clan as they carved all kinds of things out of wood, stones and other materials. Secretly, she would micmic them and carve toys out of wood, cutting her fingers multiple times in the proccess and her mom always scolded her when she found out because according to her 'children shouldn't play with knives'. As she grew up her hands became more dexterous, she learnt how to use more carving tools, practiced hard and eventually she created her very own bow and harpoons. Although the final result wasn't all that pretty, her hand-made weapons were still efficient.

Thanks to those weapons she had been hunting down wild animals and was able to make her own living.

She hid herself behind the bushes and waited patiently. The area of the forest she had chosen to camp at was filled with mushrooms, thus it attracted many wild boars.

As expected, it didn't take long for one to appear. It was a fully grown male. _Lucky,_ _this one's gonna sell high_.

Without making the slightest noise, Mashiro drew one of her harpoons from her quiver and placed it on her bow. She aimed just below its shoulder where the heart is and shot. The struck animal squealed, the girl positioned one more harpoon on her bow, took aim and shot again. This time she struck its head and the boar fell on the ground. It kicked its hoofs several times violently before it stopped moving.

 _One down._

She nocked another harpoon to her bow when a second boar showed up and struck it on the side. The animal fell on the ground and writhed in pain before it lumbered back on its feet and made its escape.

 _Dammit._ That one's tough. She followed behind it, preparing to launch another harpoon. It was so goddamn fast that she couldn't aim. Then she lost sight of the boar and wandered around for a good ten minutes. The girl had crossed into an unfamiliar area where the shrubs exceeded her height; it would be a pain to look for the boar there.

Then she heard something that made her cringe. It was the growling of the Mountain God; a bear that was not like the others. It was bigger, stronger and far more dangerous. She had heard tales from the people of her clan, claiming that the animal was the reincarnation of an actual god and those who had attempted to hunt it down in the past had all met tragic deaths. The girl knew that much and had always avoided approaching its den. But now she must have accidentally crossed over to its territory whilst she was chasing the boar. That bear was the strongest animal on the mountain, an obstacle she had to overcome in order to become stronger and Mashiro had always wished to take it down, but she wasn't sure if she would be able to do so. Her eyes scanned the area around her. Thick vegetation meant that she had the advantage. Her heart was torn between facing her fears and running away. She took a deep breath in order to clear her mind and took one of her harpoons in her hands. _She would fight._

At that moment, a loud sound made the ground quake under her feet. Trees crashed to the ground in every direction. The girl glanced at her surroundings and her dark eyes widened in terror when she saw the crater that had been formed by the explosion. Though what really made her shake with fear was the sight of the Forest Musician facing the Mountain God. Her opponent was a large bear with black fur and sharp teeth. Blood was dripping from its mouth. Cranberry's outfit was also stained dark red, _was she wounded?_

The bear's furious growls sent shivers down her spine and although she had already nocked one of her harpoons in her bow, she was hesitating to shoot.

She wanted to help the musician. Was it even possible for a powerless girl like her to manage this? Once again, her inferiority-complex kicked in and her hands were shaking like leaves in the wind.

The elf was standing still; she was probably in pain and couldn't move, or so Mashiro thought, when all of a sudden Cranberry did something that stayed engraved in the girl's mind. Despite being face to face with death, despite being against a formidable opponent that none had ever defeated, that glorious moment, the musician's lips turned upwards into a grin. She would never forget the expression on Cranberry's face. It was…

… _insolent._

… _powerful._

… _uncaring._

… _passionate._

She realized that Cranberry didn't fear a fight to the death. It was the other way around, she was _lusting_ for one.

Mashiro was too caught up admiring the elf woman, when accidentally she let go of her harpoon which flew towards the enraged beast, and struck its leg. The creature made a 90 degree turn and growled angrily before it charged towards Mashiro. The girl tried to move backwards but tripped on some overgrown tree roots and landed flat on her bottom.

"Owie…" That had hurt. She looked up and saw the Mountain God raising its claws to strike her; immediately she turned pale with fear, her eyes squeezed tightly shut. She had tried to play hero and now she was about to lose her head. How could she have been so reckless? How could _s—_

"Your opponent is right here."

A soft voice, soothing enough to make her open her eyes. She saw Cranberry jumping in the air and delivering an impressive spinning heel kick on the bear's head, the force of which sent it crashing on nearby boulders.

Cranberry had saved Mashiro just in time. One second later and the girl would have been food for the bear.

The elf licked the blood from her lips. She clenched her fists and dashed forward. She punched and kicked the beast repeatedly. Her agility was inhumane even Mashiro's eyes couldn't keep up with her moves. The more she spilled her opponent's blood the more excited she became. She wanted to satisfy her burning thirst. Cranberry was brutal, ruthless; she was like a beast herself. Compared to her, the Mountain God didn't seem all that frightening anymore.

The girl was terrified, yet at the same time she felt joy watching Cranberry's bloody rampage. Yes, this is what it means to be strong. The strong _cannot_ be beaten, the strong _always_ win. In her eyes, Cranberry was a winner; in her eyes the Forest Musician was **invincible**.

Her physical appearance, her strength, her fearless nature, she symbolized the perfection that Mashiro chased relentlessly but no matter how hard she tried she had never be able to attain… In her eyes Cranberry was a great goddess meant to be worshipped, nothing less than that and the girl adored her, oh _so much_.

She admired in silence as the musician was beating up her opponent. It was a disturbing, gruesome sight, yet Mashiro didn't care. Only the strong survive in the mountains. It is only normal for the weak ones to die, this is nature's law; there's **nothing** to feel bad about. Mashiro grew up on these morals she would experience them every day as she watched hungry beasts devour each other. That's why she wanted to become stronger and likewise, was attracted to physically strong, powerful individuals.

One final blow and finally the elf took a few steps backwards as the large bear collapsed on the ground. It had holes all over its body and it was covered in a pool of blood. Cranberry gazed at its carcass as if admiring her handiwork and grinned softly.

"You possess remarkable endurance, as expected from the rumored Mountain God. Thank you for being my opponent." For someone who commits violence so casually, she was awfully polite. The elf wiped the blood from her face and walked away.


	4. Chapter 3

Mashiro finally transforms into a Magical Girl and follows her dream! Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 3- _Magical Girl Melville_

The musician had managed to defeat the Mountain God, the most terrifying creature of the forest, with great ease. She had beaten him to a bloody pulp and she herself had only suffered a few scratches in the process. Part of the forest had been demolished by Cranberry's magic and Mashiro was still in great shock when she heard someone addressing her.

"Cranberry's impressive isn't she, pon? She's a born killer, pon." A voice reached her. It didn't sound human. The girl slid her hand in her short's pocket and took out her cellphone. Half black, half white; a strange creature that resembled a gold fish was floating on the phone's screen.

At the creature's comment, Mashiro simply nodded her head in response.

"You can become as strong too, pon." The creature said with a meaningful undertone in its voice. Its words had left the girl puzzled.

Could Mashiro really become like Cranberry?

"Let me introduce myself, I am the mascot character Fav, pon! Kuji Mashiro, I've determined that you are suitable to become a Magical Girl, pon!"

* * *

 _One month later_

* * *

Her long hair was the color of autumn leaves and her braided pigtails were intertwined with violet roses and thorns. She had sharp ears. Her outfit was like Cranberry's, albeit more revealing and she wore a light-colored cape too. She had a large red rose on her left breast and a red rose ring on her left hand.

Her physical abilities were inhumane. It was something that took her a while to get used to. Her senses were also enhanced. Her eyes could see farther than a normal human and her hearing was more sensitive.

Ever since she had transformed into a Magical Girl by Fav, Melville _—_ _which was Mashiro's name as a Magical Girl_ _—_ would spent majority of her time training. She would use large trees as training dummies, she would crash rocks with her bare hands and when she needed a moving target she would hunt down wild animals. However, Melville knew that testing her skills on animals alone was meaningless, so during nighttime she would visit the nearby villages and assault physically strong men, but even then her opponents got knocked out easily and she wasn't satisfied.

According to Fav, the musician would always go after the strongest and humans aren't the kind of opponents Cranberry would go after.

Melville wanted to fight a Magical Girl.

Having witnessed Cranberry's strength had sent shivers down her spine. Even with her newfound powers, she was aware that defeating a fellow Magical Girl would be no easy task. To achieve victory she would have to rely on something else. Something that could potentially give her the upper hand in a battle between equals...

Her signature magic.

Every Magical Girl possesses a type of magic that is unique only to them. That's what Fav had told her. Melville had hoped for a magic that would boost her strength or make her create explosions or something destructive in general and yet, when she checked her Magical Phone she found out that her magic was to:

 _Change the colors of objects_.

Change colors? _What kind of lame ability is that_?

She was utterly disappointed. How was she gonna beat her opponents with a skill that's not even meant for combat? How was she gonna become stronger? Melville had wished to become like the musician, imitate her fighting style, but her defensive magic didn't allow for something like that. She feared that her dream might never come true.

Then a week ago, she had received a message from Fav. Apparently she had been chosen to participate in some kind of 'exam' where she would have to compete against other Magical Girls. Fav was the one arranging the exam and as his Master, the one to oversee it would be no other than Cranberry herself.

' _Kill the other participants; prove yourself to Cranberry, pon.'_

This was Melville's chance to shine. She had to take advantage of it and to do so she would have to use her magic.

But what would be the best way to use it?

Melville was sitting on a log, absorbed in her own thoughts when she felt her left hand itching. She glanced sideways and noticed a lizard walking on it lazily. No, that wasn't a normal lizard, it was smaller in size and she also noticed that it was changing colors. What was its name again? It took her a short while to recall, _chameleon_.

 **That's it**. At that moment it dawned on her. Since her magic had no offensive capabilities she had to play smart. If she couldn't fight fairly then all she had to do was fight dirty, if she couldn't face her opponents head-on then she would just stab them from behind. If things didn't go her way, then she would just _bribe_ her way through and if she didn't want people to see her then she would use her magic to become a chameleon.

As long as she could achieve victory and impress Cranberry, Melville would gladly sacrifice her dignity and turn into a most despicable scoundrel.

 _For the sake of making those crimson eyes look at me…I will kill…and kill… and kill…_

* * *

The Magical Girls had been tricked. The selection exam had turned into a blood bath and now all of them were being targeted by an unknown assailant.

They were ordinary girls who had been chosen by Fav to participate in a selection exam where they would compete against each other by gathering magical candies, and the winner would become a real Magical Girl, whereas the losers would lose their memories as Magical Girls and become regular humans. Those were the rules of the game and the girls were fine with it, but none of them would have expected that everything Fav had told them was just a farce and that the _real_ purpose of this exam, was for the Magical Girls to compete against each other in a game of death orchestrated by Fav and his Master, Cranberry.

The two of them had been accomplices for a very long time. They had created countless of death games were they tricked innocent Magical Girls, into killing each other.

The duo had different reasons for committing those crimes. Fav was in it to amuse itself while Cranberry was in it to satisfy her bloodlust. Usually, when the two of them gathered enough Magical Girls, Cranberry would just kill everyone in search of a strong opponent, though this time she had decided not to interfere as someone else was already progressing the game.

 _How interesting._

She had been quiet around the other Magical Girls not raising the slightest suspicion to herself due to her harmless demeanor and then she had used her magic to murder them in cold blood. Her ability ' _to change colors_ ', allowed her to blend in with her surroundings, making her the perfect assassin.

Cranberry smiled to herself. She and Fav were watching the game in secret. After countless of failed attempts, she had finally managed to find a decent opponent.

"Another elf Magical Girl, this is fate." The musician commented before she questioned the Cyber-Fairy, "What is her name?"

"Melville, pon!" Fav replied through Cranberry's Administrator Phone, "I recruited her because she's obsessed with you and will commit heinous crimes just so you can notice her; she even designed her outfit after yours, pon." The mascot added in a sarcastic voice.

"My-my, looks like you've done your research," Cranberry chuckled. She was surprised to hear that one of their many victims was viewing her in a positive light. Her eyes sparkled with anticipation.

" _Melville_ …I am looking forward to fight her."


	5. Chapter 4

My fellow elf shippers, this is the chapter you have been waiting for :3

I hope you enjoy! Feel free to review :)

 _Also_ , starting from chapter 5 onwards, I am gonna include more known Magical Girls to my fanfic; characters from Unmarked and Restart, and a few from Limited and even Jokers! So stay tuned ;)

* * *

Chapter 4- _Predator and Prey_

The Magical Girl was struggling. She tried to raise her hand and reach for the one who had just stabbed her, but she couldn't. She had been pierced from her upper back all the way to her chest. She felt the taste of hot red liquid flowing out of her mouth. Her vision was starting to become blurry. Soon she was lying on the ground unmoving, her life drained out of her.

When she confirmed that the Magical Girl was dead, the killer removed her harpoon from the corpse's back. Melville took a deep breath and exhaled.

 _This was the last one,_ she thought to herself.

Three days had passed since the selection exams had started and Melville had successfully eliminated all the twelve Magical Girls who had been participating alongside her. She wasn't sure how she felt about having committed those crimes. She had killed animals before, but she had never taken the life of another human being. When the Magical Girls she killed reverted back to their human forms, Melville couldn't help but feel disgusted with herself and she would have given up right after she killed the first Magical Girl that stood in her way, yet it was the thought of Cranberry that had kept her going.

If she managed to win the game she would have a chance to see Cranberry again. That's what Fav had told her. That's all Melville wanted. That was her reason for fighting and she was determined to do anything in her power to achieve her goal.

Melville was still absorbed in her thoughts when she felt a hand grabbing her by the shoulder. She flinched away. Her golden eyes scanned the area around her but there was none in sight; it couldn't be her imagination, she was sure she had felt someone's hand on her shoulder.

"Looks like you managed to take down the other participants and win. Well done, Melville."

She immediately recognized that voice. Slowly, she glanced over her shoulder and then she saw her _—_ the musician giving her a gentle smile. Cranberry took a step forward and bowed formally, "It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I am the Musician of the Forest Cranberry, but I suppose you already know my name."

The girl was tongue-tied, Cranberry had appeared out of nowhere, she had introduced herself to the girl, but most importantly she had praised her. Melville wasn't sure what would be best to say or do, her cheeks were burning and before she realized it she was staring at the ground silently.

"Oh my, did I scare you? I apologize _—_ I was just curious to see how you would react. Your reaction time is not bad, but you mustn't drop your guard."

At Cranberry's remark Melville nodded her head in agreement, still staring downwards, though she quickly raised her gaze in astonishment when she noticed that the musician had moved and was now standing right next to her. Cranberry's agility was incredible, Melville had witnessed it in the past but it _wasn't_ what had stunned her. It was something _else_ , a warm sensation on her skin; Cranberry's soft breath against her ear.

"It's over, when you let your guard down..."

Her voice was low and silky; the scent of her roses intoxicating and Melville could feel her heart pounding faster than before. Her knees were shaking and her body temperature was rising. It was an irrational feeling and yet Melville couldn't shake it off.

She also felt something else, something very unpleasant, which made her place her hand against her mouth as she coughed up blood.

"Didn't I tell you not to lower your guard?" Cranberry questioned, this time with a saddened look in her eyes.

Melville soon noticed the cause of her unbearable pain. She saw Cranberry's fingertips against her stomach. Simply touching her stomach with her fingers wouldn't hurt her, Cranberry must have used her magic; the powerful magic that she used to bring down the Mountain God and had caused the destruction at the mountain.

Despite the sudden hit she received, Melville didn't flinch; she quickly turned invisible and moved away. The musician smiled, pleased at her reaction, "I've been watching you all this time and I've always wanted to see your magic from up close, it truly is a sight to behold…"

Cranberry was after her and Melville was unprepared. All this time she thought that Cranberry was merely the overseer of the selection exams and it never crossed her mind that it would come down to kill or be killed, neither did the damned Cyber-Fairy tell her that she would have to go up against its Master.

Cranberry licked her lips, "Please do entertain me," she said and headed towards an invisible Melville who was forced to step backwards.

 _Something's off…_

Normally when Melville turned invisible her opponents became confused, they would gaze around them nervously and seemed to be unsure of what action to take. Melville would take advantage of their confusion and strike them without hesitation. But Cranberry's attitude was different. Her moves were confident and she even hummed a tune to herself while walking.

Why was she so relaxed?

Melville took her bow from her back. She positioned a harpoon and aimed towards Cranberry. She had to put up a fight, if she screwed up now Cranberry would certainly kill her.

She shot her invisible harpoons several times but thanks to her agility, Cranberry dodged them with ease. When she was close, Melville retreated behind the trees for safety. Cranberry was skilled, her movements were that of a veteran, frontal attacks wouldn't work on her, so Melville decided that the best way to bring her down would be to assault Cranberry when she had her back turned. Backstabbing was Melville's specialty after all. On the other hand, Cranberry was taking her time, observing, analyzing and evaluating her opponent, like she would always do.

"Your magic allows you to change the color of anything you touch, in other words, you are a top-tier illusionist…" She ceased walking and glanced sideways at the spot where Melville was hiding.

Melville shot her harpoon. Her aiming skills were improbable and her harpoon invisible, she was going for a direct hit. The musician closed her eyes and lifted up two fingers.

"But even so…" Cranberry continued as she caught the invisible harpoon in the air, much to Melville's shock, "…you can't _hide_ from me."

She effortlessly crashed the harpoon with her bare hand. Cranberry dashed towards Melville and used her special move, _Sforzando_ , as she punched her on the cheek. Her powerful blow sent her flying backwards several meters before she crashed into a tree and finally fell to the ground.

"That's what you get for avoiding my vital organs. It saddens me when I am not being taken seriously." Cranberry scolded her with a melancholic smile on her face. Indeed, Melville had planned to target Cranberry's limbs in the hopes of incapacitating her, she wasn't trying to kill her and Cranberry had seen through her.

Melville's head was bleeding, blood was blurring her vision. She tried to stand up. What did Cranberry meant when she said that Melville could not hide from her? Could she see her? This didn't seem to be the case. Cranberry knew where Melville was and she had followed her, but how? Despite the agonizing pain she felt from Cranberry's blow, Melville was trying hard to think. Why did Cranberry close her eyes when she shot her harpoon at her? How was she able to detect it? There had to be a clue. She recalled the first time she had seen her on the mountain, playing her lyre. Back then Melville had sensed something strange. Despite hearing Cranberry singing and the music from her lyre she couldn't hear any other sound around them.

 _Sound_ …

Melville's eyes widened in shock. How foolish she had been. Her magic could mess with her opponent's vision, but it didn't affect their other senses and she had completely overlooked that fact. Cranberry had detected her through sound which means that the true nature of her magic was...

"Judging by the look on your face, I suppose you finally figured it out didn't you? My magic allows me to manipulate sound waves and my hearing is more sensitive than that of an average Magical Girl."

Melville raised her head and her gaze met with Cranberry's. In the musician's crimson eyes was reflected an insatiable thirst to spill her opponent's blood and the girl felt as if she was staring right into the devil's eyes.

"What I desire more than anything in the world, is someone strong enough to give me a good fight, someone who won't hesitate to spill my blood or make me feel pain. Do you think you have what it takes to satisfy my craving…Melville?"

Cranberry questioned as she stretched her hand towards the fallen elf. Her bloodstained fingers were just a breath away from Melville's face; feeling as if she was about to be devoured by a beast, Melville's hand moved out of instinct, slashing the musician's palm with her harpoon. Cranberry was taken by surprise, which gave Melville enough time to turn invisible and sneak away from her.

When she made sure that she had run far enough, she hid herself behind a tree and waited. She still hadn't recovered from Cranberry's punch; she was feeling dizzy and was struggling to stand on her own feet. She felt like a helpless mouse being chased by a tiger. This is how great their difference in power was. She didn't have any energy left, all she could do in her state was try to stay as quiet as possible.

However, Melville would soon find out that no matter how quiet she was it wasn't enough to hide her from Cranberry's enhanced hearing.

"Your heartbeat makes a lovely sound."

Crimson eyes pinned her in place; Melville's back was against a tree. There was **nowhere** to run now.

Even while faced with death she couldn't help but feel admiration for Cranberry. The musician was powerful, her beauty captivating; fighting against her had been an honor and although Melville feared death, the thought of Cranberry killing her now seemed oddly appealing to her.

Cranberry had been holding her index finger to her chin and like that she leaned closer, until her face was a few inches away from Melville's. She slightly titled her head to the side, smiling. Melville's cheeks flushed a deep red as she realized that she was no longer invisible in Cranberry's eyes. The musician was gazing in her golden eyes curiously, like a carnivorous predator who is about to devour its prey and soon her smile grew wider, as if she noticed something that had intrigued her. She removed her finger from her chin and brushed one of Melville's curls from her face, her touch an easy caress.

"You are not like the other Magical Girls. I can see it in your eyes. You do not fear me…" Cranberry murmured sweetly.

She was close, _too close_. Melville could feel her heart pumping fast, it was echoing in her ears; her palms were all sweaty too, her tummy was hurting but she was sure it wasn't from the hit she had received earlier. She always felt shy around others, but around Cranberry, her 'shyness meter' was going off the chart and there was nothing she could do about it.

She had almost forgotten that her life was at stake when the musician finally moved away from her, "I am pleased that you survived. I've been cheering for you since the start. You have talent but you need to nurture it." Cranberry commented and walked away, licking her bleeding palm.

She had spared her life but now Melville's memory of Cranberry would vanish. That's how the musician covered up her crimes. Such was the fate of the Magical Girls who had survived her games. But Melville didn't want to accept such a fate; all this time she had gone unnoticed by the world and Cranberry was the first person who had noticed the invisible Melville; the first person who saw potential in her and even challenged her. Cranberry had praised her, she had smiled at her, she made her feel that her existence was worth something and Melville didn't want to forget any of this... how could she ever forget?

She watched her walking away and the more steps Cranberry took, the more Melville felt that she couldn't let her go. She had to say something, anything to make her stay. She placed her hands on her chest so she could feel her heartbeat; for the sake of protecting the feelings in her heart, the shy Magical Girl gathered all the courage she had left and then her lips moved.

"Ai wud laik tu riquest samthing …"


	6. Chapter 5

So, vacation's over and I'm back with a new chapter! I apologize that this took so long!

I hope you guys enjoy and feel free to review! :)

* * *

Chapter 5- _Target Located_

Her weakened voice had reached Cranberry's ears. The musician turned around to face her, "A request? And what would that be if I may ask?"

The shy Magical Girl dropped her gaze on the ground, "Ai…dun wont dis…Ai dun wont tu fourget…"

"Will u pliz grant mi mai wis…?" She gazed at the musician timidly, her face glowing with burning cheeks.

Cranberry remained silent for a few seconds. She probably had trouble understanding the girl's thick accent, but then she spoke:

"Very well. Consider this a gift for the impressive skill you exhibited during the exam."

Cranberry had granted Melville's wish. She had allowed her to keep her memory. It was something that she had never done in the past as it would cause her trouble and yet she had made an exception for Melville, because she saw potential in her; the girl could be trained into a deadly fighter.

Two months had passed since then.

Cranberry's training methods were brutal and the poor girl had been unable to keep up with her. She always ended up with broken ribs, arms, legs and that is if she didn't lose her consciousness first. Melville had never received proper training in the past, and even for magical girl standards she was quite weak. But that wasn't what troubled Cranberry. Every time she looked at her apprentice she saw an individual who lacked confidence in her abilities. The Forest Musician had been a Magical Girl for many years, and throughout her life she had fought against many different types of Magical Girls.

Yet none of them were like her apprentice. Melville was obsessed with winning; she despised failure and the slightest shortcoming was devastating to her. The musician on the other hand was different. She didn't care about winning or losing, she simply wanted to enjoy the thrill of combat and feel the rush of adrenaline running through her veins, as she ruthlessly mangled her opponent. The physical appearance of the two elf magical girls was very similar and yet on the inside the two were nothing alike…

A lonely melody had been echoing throughout the forest. _How can two people be so similar and yet so different?_

"Cranberry I need to talk to you, pon." A voice from her Magical Phone reached her. It had a childlike, impatient tone to it, "The participants have all been chosen, it's time for the selection exam to start, pon."

Ah yes, the selection exam. Cranberry had been deep in thought and had almost forgotten about it.

"Melville will also be here any moment now, pon. You gotta do something about her as well, pon."

The sound coming from Cranberry's flute ceased, "Do you think I am being too harsh on her?"

"Throwing her in the ocean and expecting her to swim isn't gonna work with someone like Melville, pon. Your priority should be to boost her morale, pon."

Fav was right. All this time, Melville had been struggling against a strong opponent like Cranberry to no avail. But now with the upcoming death game she would have the chance to watch Cranberry face different opponents, including other rookies; observing them and learning from their mistakes would be a valuable lesson to her.

"Allowing her to gain experience in the death games until she feels more confident in her abilities; this should be good enough for the time being."

Cranberry never had an apprentice before, so it was a challenge for her to teach Melville, especially since the latter was a girl with poor self-esteem. As Cranberry's advisor, it was Fav's job to guide its Master in order to make sure that she's doing her job correctly. Among the two of them, Cranberry did the killings, while Fav was the one doing all the hard work, like arranging the death games, planning ahead, sending out fake reports to the Land of Magic and doing things that would advance the duo's goals.

Acquiring loyal followers was one of those things.

It happened three months ago in the forest. Fav who is always accompanying its Master, had taken notice of the shy girl hiding behind the bushes _—_ bright red cheeks, longing expression on her face _—_ as she was admiring Cranberry from the shadows. Cranberry on the other hand, had been too busy playing her lyre. On top of that, she had erased all sound around her except for that of her lyre, so she hadn't noticed a thing.

Not that she would have noticed either way, _that battle-maniac is no good when it comes to these kinds of things._

Fav had taken advantage of the circumstances and unaware to Cranberry it had contacted Mashiro in secret after it had witnessed the latter's attempt at aiding Cranberry against the Mountain God.

Confirming that the girl was determined to risk her life for its Master's sake, he had decided to turn her into the Magical Girl, Melville. Fav then advised the newly born Magical Girl to kill everyone in the upcoming selection exam and much to its delight she did. As expected, Cranberry had taken notice of her and now Melville was Cranberry's apprentice.

Everything was going according to Fav's plan. The selection exams had ended and the result had probably been the most pleasing of the past five years. The last death game had produced a Magical Girl fiercely loyal to Cranberry; a naïve girl who was the perfect puppet in Fav's play.

 _Falling for the villain of all people, such a foolish girl._

"What's so funny?"

Cranberry's voice startled the mascot. Fav had been laughing the entire time forgetting that its Master was playing her flute right next to her Magical Phone.

"I just read a hilarious joke on that website, pon _._ "

The mascot was laughing ridiculously. Its synthetic voice made its laugh sound even more ridiculous. Fav had a keen interest in tasteless jokes and on its free time, it would surf the web in order to read them. Cranberry on the other hand wasn't the least bit interested in them. Her expression was a mix of disgust and aloofness. How can someone waste their time like this?

"Your apprentice will be here at any moment, pon."

The musician's ears twitched slightly and she glanced on her left.

"Right on time too. Good evening Melville." She had once again spotted her. Melville undid her magic.

"Gud…evenin'…" she said timidly.

"Melville, pon" Fav addressed the girl all of a sudden "You are going to accompany Cranberry in the upcoming selection exam, pon."

At the sound of these words, Melville glanced at her mentor; there was mild surprise in her gaze as she wasn't aware that a new selection exam was about to take place.

"Would that be alright with you, Melville?" Unlike Fav whose tone was inconsiderate, Cranberry's tone was always gentle whenever she addressed her apprentice. And while Melville was the kind of person who despised being ordered around, she would always obey Cranberry. In response to her mentor's question, Melville nodded her head positively.

The Forest Musician smiled softly, "Thank you Melville. I know I can count on you."

The girl blushed and dropped her gaze on the ground "Dun mention it…" her voice was nothing more than a whisper.

* * *

The Magical Girl had been waiting patiently on the other side of the forest. She was standing by a tree looking through a pair of binoculars. She had been told that the musician's enhanced hearing was troublesome and she would have to keep her distance, so the magical girl had decided that this would be the best way to spy on her. Three hours had passed with nothing significant happening, when all of a sudden another elf Magical Girl showed up. She had never seen her before. She noticed that the new elf had very long beautiful braids, which were decorated by large roses. Her hair was the same color as the 'summer sunset', that's how her mentor had described it to her.

"Target located."


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6 is here! I hope you enjoy! As always feel free to review :)

* * *

Chapter 6- _Her Lesson_

The location of the selection exam was at the outskirts of L-City. It was an area surrounded by greenery at the south and mountains at the north. Fav had advised Cranberry to hold the exam near an old road that led to the mountains _._ It had fallen to disuse years ago and was no longer passable by cars so there was no chance that humans would show up there; in other words it was the perfect stage for a death game.

The two elf Magical Girls had now arrived at the location and were on standby. Earlier, Cranberry had contacted one of her colleagues from the Land of Magic, asking for her aid. Melville wasn't sure what her mentor was up to and had refrained from asking questions as it wasn't her business. However there was certainly a good reason as to why Cranberry had done that and Melville was about to find out.

There was the sound of crunching noises against the gravel and then an unknown to Melville Magical Girl, appeared before them.

"Umm…" She was dressed in a maid's costume. Her braids had a beautiful dark ash blonde color and were tied with black bows; on her head she was wearing a frilly white bonnet with cat ears. She was holding a mop in her hands which was also decorated with a black bow. Her Magical Girl form looked very young like that of a small child. Maybe she was a small child as a human too.

Her red eyes had a timid, frightened look in them, as if she was about to cry at the slightest provocation. Melville had no doubt. That one was _definitely a child_.

Even so, how did that Magical Girl know that she and the musician were there? Was she a participant or maybe someone who had showed up uninvited? Melville was about to take a step forward, but then Cranberry spoke.

"We've been expecting you Nokko-chan. Thank you for coming here. Your magic will surely make this exam all the more interesting." The musician said addressing the maid Magical Girl.

Melville finally realized; that young girl was the reason why the two of them had been waiting on standby.

"I-I'll do my best…" the maid replied.

Cranberry then turned to her apprentice "Melville, I would like you to use your magic, the candidates will be arriving shortly and I'd rather if the two of you didn't get in any danger."

Melville nodded her head and immediately used her magic to make herself and Nokko-chan invisible. Not long afterwards, the candidates started to show themselves. When all of them had arrived, Nokko-chan used her magic 'to manipulate the emotions of others' in order to rile them up. The strongest girl among them proved to be easily ticked off as she went on a rampage killing three other girls in the process. Her magic was rather powerful because it allowed her to 'control the speed of others' which she used in order to slow down her opponent's movements, thus getting easy kills. No matter who she came up against, that girl would have the advantage in hand-to-hand combat.

Cranberry could feel the excitement running through her veins; her pulse racing at the sight of the strongest girl defeating the other candidates. She recalled her days at Mao's School when she used to compete against other Magical Girls in Battle Royales.

 _Ahh, the good old days…_

In a flash, the musician joined the fight.

She crashed all other Magical Girls in her way, beating them mercilessly as she made her way towards her designated target _,_ greeting her with a punch in the face. The girl who was already furious used her slowing magic on Cranberry and repaid her with a kick to the shin and a jab to the jaw, followed by a cross and finishing with another jab, all of which the musician was unable to block. Soon it became clear that Cranberry had the disadvantage. Her opponent would effortlessly evade all her blows and kicks while, on the other hand, Cranberry herself wasn't fast enough to block neither evade on time, resulting in her being hit multiple times.

Melville was watching closely. No matter how strong Cranberry was how could she counter an opponent much faster than her?

The musician was in a pretty bad shape; blood was streaming down her face, two or three of her ribs had been broken and judging by her movements it seemed as if her left arm had been incapacitated and yet…

...she was smiling _._

Cranberry glanced briefly at the direction Melville was. Could it be that she wanted to show her something?

For some reason that Melville couldn't understand, Cranberry dropped on her knees. Her opponent went for a straight punch and Cranberry slowly lifted her right hand probably in a vain attempt to block it. Melville's heart skipped a beat as blood was splattered all over the place. The musician had been hit, but just then, Melville noticed that the other Magical Girl wasn't moving. As if time had stopped, she had remained frozen in place. The musician's smile grew wider revealing her teeth. Her opponent had been too confident in the superiority of her slowing magic, focusing on delivering the finishing blow that she had failed to notice that Cranberry's fingers were reaching for her chest.

The Magical Girl spat a mouthful of blood as her heart had been struck by Cranberry's sound magic. She stepped backwards, her body unable to support her weight any longer and like this she dropped cold on the ground.

Melville was amazed. She hadn't realized it at first, but Cranberry's every move had meaning. She had made herself seem vulnerable and waited for the right moment to strike.

 _Once they let their guard down is when you deal the fatal blow._

That was the lesson that Cranberry wanted to teach her apprentice. Melville knew that Cranberry could have avoided most of the damage if she had activated her magic earlier using an area-of-effect attack, but instead she had endured her opponent's brutality for the sake of teaching her apprentice a valuable lesson, a technique that Melville could adapt to her own fighting style. That was the kind of mentor Cranberry was; a _truly_ admirable mentor.

The musician raised herself from the ground. Her lacey white choker, her bolero jacket and her dress, all had the same red color as her roses. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, letting air fill her lungs. The smell of blood was strong enough to make any living being sick but Cranberry neither noticed nor cared.

Fighting for your life in a game of survival and crashing your opponents with all your might _—_ that was what Cranberry lived for. It was her whole life. She exhaled in satisfaction.

The elf looked towards her fallen opponent; her dead eyes staring blankly at her. She had fought valiantly but in the end she wasn't strong enough. The pleasure Cranberry had felt quickly turned into bitter disappointment. Once again she was the sole survivor, standing among the corpses of the dead participants all by herself.

Her chest felt heavy. She hated that feeling. She had spent majority of her life living like this _—_ it was her choice to live her life this way, a choice she had made a long time ago when she was still a child and yet she would always feel unbearably lonely. She wasn't sure why.

 _Hmm?_ She cocked her eyebrow as soon as she heard something. It was what seemed to be the heartbeats of two magical girls. It wasn't the heartbeats of Nokko-chan or Melville since she could already hear those. The sound was faint as if it was coming from far away. Judging by the beating of their hearts they must have been running. Nokko-chan's magic only affected targets within a 20 meter radius, these two must have strayed too far from her range.

Cranberry chuckled softly _. Think you can escape, huh?_ She thought and ran after them. Soon she disappeared behind the woods.

* * *

Melville undid her magic.

Nokko-chan exhaled in relief. Her magic relied on how she felt and it had been too hard for her to control her own emotions. Being near the musician made her feel extremely stressed. She had been assisting her for a long time, but Cranberry's brutality had always terrified her. Unlike her, Melville was perfectly calm and she was already checking the corpses to make sure that Cranberry had killed them; if someone was still breathing Melville would finish them off, there was no need for Cranberry to bother herself with them.

When she confirmed that all the participants had died she turned to the maid Magical Girl.

"Halp mi aut. Wi ahr throuing the bodiz off the clif."

"A-Alright."

The reason Fav had chosen the outskirts of L-City as the selection grounds wasn't only because it was an abandoned area, but also because it was close to the sea and would make it all the easier to get rid of the corpses. One by one, the two magical girls gathered the corpses at the edge of the cliff and pushed them off. All ended up at the bottom of the sea. As she watched the waves crash against the rocks, Melville wondered if Cranberry would be pleased for helping her out. Would she smile at her, would she pat her on the back?

Maybe. _Hopefully…_

"Melville…"

"Hmm?"

"Who is that person over there…?"

The elf followed Nokko-chan's finger to where she was pointing. Hanging upside down from a tree branch was an unknown Magical Girl; she was watching them through a pair of binoculars.

" _Whoops_! Looks like you spotted me, oh hehe…"

The girl had short blonde hair with red tips, decorated by a spiked leather bow. She wore a striped black and white tunic and blue thigh high socks with bone patterns on them. She was carrying a black cross-shaped guitar.

"My name's Tot Pop, nice to meet ya two!" The punk-rocker Magical Girl said in an upbeat tone.


	8. Chapter 7

This chapter turned out longer than usual, I hope you guys enjoy!

Also, I would like to dedicate this chapter to my friend Kinuu! Happy Birthday dear! :)

* * *

Chapter 7- _A Formidable Duo Appears_

The two Magical Girls were staring at Tot Pop in silence.

"Cmon! Aren't ya gonna tell me your names? Let's get to know each other!" The punk-rocker Magical Girl urged them.

Nokko-chan glanced at Melville unsure of what she should do, but Melville was watching Tot Pop attentively.

How was she able to see them?

Melville remembered that she had undone her magic the moment Cranberry had left. How foolish of her to do such a thing. She had let her guard down and now there was someone who had witnessed everything. She bit her bottom lip angrily.

 _This is bad… I cannot allow her to contact the Land of Magic._

The elf Magical Girl drew her bow and nocked a harpoon, not taking her eyes away from the punk-rocker.

"Hmm, you two seem to be shy" Tot Pop noted, "Alright, we need to break the ice, so I am gonna play you a song on my _guit_ _—"_ She stopped immediately when she saw Melville taking aim and firing a harpoon towards her. Tot Pop jumped off the tree.

"It's not that bad of a song I promise! You don't have to be so angry, hehe." She said as she approached the other two. Melville nocked another harpoon and took aim towards Tot Pop, but just then she noticed something was off. The punk-rocker was grinning as she strummed her guitar. Melville's eyes widened.

" **Aut ov the wei!** " Melville pushed Nokko-chan away and she fell heavily to the ground. The elf Magical Girl also dropped on the ground just before a wave of musical notes of different colors and sizes was launched at them. Her intuition was right. Tot Pop's guitar wasn't a normal guitar, it was a magical _weapon_. Melville used her magic to turn herself invisible. Tot Pop seemed confused; she was glancing left and right, trying to figure out where the elf Magical Girl would appear from. Melville sneaked behind Tot Pop and aimed her harpoon at her back. She was about to let go of her bow's string when she heard a scream coming from the other side.

It was Nokko-chan. Melville shifted her attention towards her.

 _ **What the…?**_

She blinked in astonishment. A human hand with no body had appeared out of thin air; it had grabbed the maid Magical Girl by the neck and had lifted her upwards.

Was that also part of Tot Pop's magic? Or was it someone else?

She couldn't exactly use her bow, as her intended target didn't have a body and Melville didn't want to injure Nokko-chan by accident. Cranberry had specifically told her that she didn't want any of them to get in any danger.

Melville had to get closer.

She ran towards the maid Magical Girl, but just before she reached her, she heard a loud sound coming from the direction Tot Pop was. A barrage of musical notes was launched towards Melville covering the area she was in. Melville evaded them easily as none of them was aimed directly at her. It seemed as if Tot Pop was aiming them blindly. She couldn't see Melville, yet she knew that Melville would run to Nokko-chan's aid, which only meant that whoever's hand was that had grabbed Nokko-chan, was an accomplice to Tot Pop and knew about Melville's magic too.

Melville greeted her teeth. She couldn't risk getting close to Nokko-chan because the musical notes would also hit her, but she couldn't let that floating hand harm her either.

 _What should she do?_

She was still trying to avoid Tot Pop's attacks, when she noticed that both the hand and Nokko-chan disappeared for a second and reappeared near the edge of the cliff. The little girl was gasping for air and was struggling to break free from the hand's grasp to no avail. She was simply being dragged around like a sack of potatoes.

Melville ran towards them. The cliff's edge was very narrow and as Melville was getting closer she realized that it was getting harder and harder to avoid Tot Pop's attacks. One of the musical notes hit her right arm; another one struck her on the back. She barely avoided the rest of them. In the past, no Magical Girl except for Cranberry had been able to corner Melville this badly and even though these two didn't possess Cranberry's exceptional hearing, they had used Nokko-chan in order to determine the invisible Melville's position and lure her to their trap. She realized that her opponent's never planned on harming Nokko-chan it was Melville who had been their target all along.

She had been outsmarted. The Magical Girls she was going up against weren't the same as the rookies she had faced back in her selection exam; these ones were experienced like Cranberry and equally _dangerous_.

The hand that was holding Nokko-chan let go off her and the girl dropped on the ground, coughing and breathing heavily. Melville was struggling to avoid Tot Pop's attacks. Her aim had improved compared to before, she wondered why. She noticed that her left leg was bleeding, leaving red trails on the ground.

 _Shit…_

The floating hand which had vanished, now appeared again reaching for Melville's back and grabbed her from her hair, but Melville used her harpoon to slash it. The bleeding hand let go off her hair, but the elf Magical Girl was struck by Tot Pop's musical notes. She fell on her knees. Melville had been exhausted by the repeated attacks; she knew that she wouldn't last much longer.

* * *

The musician had been chasing the two Magical Girls who were trying to escape. One of them turned out to be a weakling as she was easily taken down, but the remaining one proved to be quite the fighter. Cranberry was laughing happily as she was smashing her face.

"Cranberry we have a problem, pon!" Fav's voice reached her from her Magical Phone.

"Not now."

"Cranberry!"

"Can't you see that I'm busy?"

"Melville and Nokko-chan were assaulted, pon!" Fav said and added, "I told you it was a bad idea to bring Nokko-chan along but you wouldn't listen, you are childishly stubborn, pon!"

Normally, Nokko-chan would assist Cranberry's tests from the shadows, but this time Cranberry had wanted to turn the current selection exam into a Battle Royale, so she had contacted Nokko-chan's boss asking to have the girl assist her directly, despite Fav's disapproval. Now both she and Melville were in danger but unlike Fav, Cranberry didn't seem to be fazed by the situation they were in. She ignored Fav and kept beating her opponent mercilessly, still upset at the fact that the strongest girl had beaten the dust so easily.

 _Thud! Crack!_ Screams and the sound of bones breaking echoed throughout the night air, until there was nothing left behind but flesh and blood.

* * *

Nokko-chan tried to lift herself off from the ground. The hand which had grabbed her earlier had almost chocked her. She was still trying to figure out what was going on. She looked at the direction Tot Pop was aiming her musical notes and noticed that blood was dripping out of thin air.

Melville must have been hit.

Nokko-chan wasn't exactly a combat Magical Girl so she couldn't just jump into the battlefield. She wasn't even sure what she should be doing at a time like this. Their enemies weren't targeting her; she could just crawl in the corner and close her eyes. That's what a young girl in her age would normally do.

Nokko-chan was an elementary school student who had become a Magical Girl at the age of four. For four years, the little girl had been working for the Land of Magic, helping out the officials in any way she could, just so she could earn money to help her ill mother. One day her boss introduced her to someone from the Human Resources Department, an examiner, whose name was _Cranberry the Forest Musician_. Nokko-chan had been told by her boss about Cranberry's achievements. She was a veteran, who had been a Magical Girl long before Nokko-chan was even born. She was the sole survivor of a selection exam that had gone wrong, and a graduate of Mao's School. Cranberry had also built her reputation as an excellent scout; all those who passed her tests were Magical Girls who excelled at combat.

Nokko-chan felt honored to be able to assist such an important individual and the pay her boss had promised her if she assisted Cranberry was ten times the money Nokko-chan normally earned. She would definitely collect all the money she needed for her mother's treatment in no time. Her boss would instruct to locate and use her magic on various Magical Girls that participated in Cranberry's tests and apply specified emotions on them. The girl wasn't sure why she had to do that, as she herself had never participated in Cranberry's selection exams before. One day however, she accidentally witnessed the musician beating another Magical Girl to death, while having an ecstatic expression on her face.

It was only then, that Nokko-chan realized that she had been indirectly assisting the elf Magical Girl into countless of murders. She hated herself for it, but the money she earned over the years were enough to help her mother move to a better hospital and now there was even hope to cure her incurable illness. For this reason she had to follow her boss's instructions and keep assisting Cranberry; there was _no_ other choice. She hated what her boss made her go through and yet she was grateful to both her and Cranberry because her mother was able to live.

Nokko-chan was staring at the blood-stained ground.

She had received a call from her boss earlier that day, telling her to go assist Cranberry directly. She was very nervous because she knew exactly what to expect. The image of the unfortunate Magical Girl being murdered in cold blood wouldn't leave her mind. Cranberry's selection exam would take place at an abandoned area and when she arrived at the meeting point, the girl was greeted by Cranberry. There was also someone else waiting besides her, another elf Magical Girl, _Melville_.

Melville was Cranberry's apprentice, the two of them looked very similar and Melville seemed to be very loyal to Cranberry. The two must be sharing a close bond. If Nokko-chan was to let Melville die she would take her revenge on the musician; pay her back for all the horrible crimes she's committed.

But even so, Nokko-chan hated herself for thinking such things. The truth is she didn't want anyone else to die. So many Magical Girls had lost their lives partially because of her, but if she could save at least one of them… _now was her chance_.

She clasped her hands in a prayer-like gesture and shut her eyes close. Tot Pop who was about to strike Melville with her musical notes stopped dead in her tracks.

"Huh? Why are we fighting again? This would have been so much easier if we could just get along."

As Tot Pop was rambling nonsense about being friendly, Melville took the opportunity to strike her. But just then Tot Pop snapped out of her confusion and jumped backwards as soon as she saw blood stains getting closer.

It was her perfect chance and Melville had missed it.

She heard Nokko-chan's screaming once again. The hand of the other Magical Girl was trying to push her off the cliff.

"No, please stop! I don't wanna die!" The maid Magical Girl was pleading for her life but the hand wouldn't let go.

Melville rushed towards them; just as the hand pushed Nokko-chan off the cliff's edge, Melville grabbed the maid Magical Girl from her wrist. Tears were flowing from the little girl's eyes. Melville tried to lift her up, but Nokko-chan shouted at her.

"Melville behind you!"

The elf Magical Girl glanced over her shoulder, the hand was reaching for her. There was nowhere to run. There was nothing she could do. She heard a sound and she saw cracks forming on the ground. Her golden eyes widened with terror, as she realized that the ground was collapsing under their weight.

It didn't take more than a second.

The two Magical Girls fell off the cliff. The floating hand now vanished into thin air. Tot Pop carefully approached what was left from the cliff's edge and looked downwards whistling.

"Wow, this is like 80 meters high or so, not even a Magical Girl would be able to survive if they were to fall down from here. Too bad we didn't get to chat." She noted casually and turned around to leave.

"Weit!"

Tot Pop looked downwards once again. This time she noticed the elf Magical Girl who was hanging from a tree branch and the maid Magical Girl who had wrapped her arms around Melville's waist, tightly.

"Aren't you gonna help us?" Nokko-chan asked with agony written all over her face.

"I would love to, but I don't think I can do that. See you guys attacked me first and so…" The punk-rocker Magical Girl heard someone approaching. She moved away from the cliff's edge.

"Miss Tot Pop?" A familiar voice addressed her. Elegant posture, her lean figure was embraced by beautiful roses. Tot Pop had met her a week ago in the forest; the two had been chatting for 2 hours straight and Tot Pop had learnt that she was also a musician like her. She had even offered her to create a band together.

"F-Forest Musician Cranberry…" Under any other circumstances she would have been excited to see her once again, but now Tot Pop could feel cold sweat running down her forehead.

"Could you please get out of the way?" Cranberry asked as she shoved Tot Pop away and looked downwards. She saw Melville hanging from a tree branch. Nokko-chan was also with her, crying. Cranberry stretched her hand out to them. Melville lifted Nokko-chan upwards. The musician grabbed the maid Magical Girl with her right hand. The tree branch that Melville was hanging from was about to break. The musician lifted Nokko-chan and threw her on the ground behind her with the same ease she would throw away a trash bag. The tree branch Melville was hanging from broke off, but Cranberry was fast enough and this time she used her free left hand to grab Melville from her wrist.

Her left arm had been badly injured during her last fight; Melville had noticed earlier that Cranberry had difficulty moving it around.

She gazed in her mentor's eyes. Drops of blood were falling on Melville's cheek. Cranberry was in great pain but she was trying her best to look calm, she even smiled at her worried apprentice. Why was she doing this? Why was she going to such great lengths to save someone like Melville? For a second she wished that Cranberry would let her fall. She didn't want to see her being in pain because of her. The musician slowly lifted her up. She took a bit longer than she did with Nokko-chan, but in the end Melville was also safe.

Finally, Cranberry turned to the punk-rocker Magical Girl.

"I am not in my best mood today, so I hope you have a legit excuse as to why you attacked my subordinates."

Even though her expression looked calm and the tone of her voice was gentle, Cranberry was furious.

"W-Well you see… It just happens that your selection exam is taking place here in L-City, which is very close to O-City where my mentor's selection exam is currently taking place. So, I attacked these two because I thought that they were intruders."

"Are you telling the truth, I wonder?" Cranberry questioned as she clenched her fists, "Shall we find out?"

"She's telling the truth, pon!" Fav popped out from Cranberry's Administrator Phone. "I was just contacted by Tot Pop's mentor she confirmed what Tot Pop just said, pon!"

"Yeh, I apologize for causing you trouble!" Tot Pop said and she bowed her head respectfully.

A convenient excuse.

Cranberry had observed Melville's fight against Tot Pop from a distance. She had decided not to interfere in the fight because she believed that this would be good practice for Melville. She had also noticed a hand floating in the air. There was only one Magical Girl who could use such magic, the fortune teller Magical Girl, Pythie Frederica. Tot Pop must have been her new apprentice. From the little she had came to know about Frederica, Cranberry knew that the real reason she had targeted Melville was because she wanted to steal a strand of her hair, so she could spy on them.

 _That woman is a pain in the neck._

Cranberry sighed and walked away from Tot Pop.

"It was fun meeting you once again Cranberry! Remember what I told you a few days ago? I really hope you won't change your mind after what happened though! Don't forget, one day we are gonna be fellow band members!"

Cranberry ceased walking "Like I said, I will consider it." She didn't turn to look at Tot Pop but Melville saw that her mentor was smiling.

Tot Pop then approached Nokko-chan and offered to accompany her home, as a way to make up for almost getting her killed. The little girl was hesitant at first, but soon Tot Pop managed to win her over with her unique charm. The two had completely forgotten what had happened earlier and were discussing happily as they walked away. Just then, Tot Pop glanced over her shoulder and winked at Melville who blushed in embarrassment. Accompanying Nokko-chan home was partly an excuse made by Tot Pop to leave the two elves alone.

"Let's go." Cranberry said weakly, but as soon as she made a step forward, she lost her balance and fell in Melville's arms.

"I apologize… I just feel a little bit tired all of a sudden…" Even though she had said that, Melville knew that her mentor had been exhausted the entire time. It was amazing just how long she managed to last, while not showing the slightest weakness before her acquaintances. She had fought the Magical Girls in the selection exam, she had been brutally beaten up by the strongest girl, she had chased two other Magical Girls and she had saved both Melville and Nokko-chan, before she eventually collapsed from tiredness.

Melville's cheeks flustered a deep red. She had never imagined that she would get to hold Cranberry in an embrace.

"Ahm sorri" Melville said, "Aiv cozed u so mach trubl…" but she didn't receive a reply. Cranberry had already lost consciousness. Melville slid her back against a tree and sat down. She would stay with Cranberry until she woke up.

"Rest wel…u diserv et." She said in a soft tone, as she lovingly held her beloved musician in her arms. She closed her eyes and buried her face in Cranberry's golden curls.

* * *

"My-my…" The Magical Girl was tending her injured hand. She had been slashed by the elf Magical Girl's harpoon earlier and now she was worried that the wound would leave a scar. She had a strand of blonde hair with red tips wrapped around her right index finger and another hair strand of ash-blonde color wrapped around her ring finger.

She couldn't stop thinking of the beautiful golden-red hair which was similar to the colors of the summer sunset. She had been so close. If only she could obtain it, then she would be one step closer to her true goal.

Frederica sighed. She looked at her crystal ball and smiled.

 _Next time._ She thought to herself.


End file.
